Ladder lock for vehicles is his baby

Eastside resident Larry Jordan began working on an automatic locking ladder rack after years of reports of fatal traffic accidents attributed to ladders falling from moving vehicles.

In March, Jordan received the go-ahead from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on a device he says will curtail the number of accidents and deaths each year related to ladders falling from moving vehicles. He is working with manufacturers to get the product on the market.

Larry Jordan has created a device that locks a ladder to a carrier on a vehicle. His goal is to make the product cheap enough for all contractors can afford it. --Patti Levine-Brown/staff

In many cases, accidents happen when a vehicle swerves or crosses into another lane while the driver is trying to avoid a ladder lying in the road. Ladders falling from moving vehicles also have been known to slam into hoods, crash through windshields or cause tire blowouts.

Maryland attorney Jeffrey Maynard said Jordan's design has been approved and a patent is expected to be issued later this year.

"I think his device is useful and effective," said Maynard, a patent attorney who previously practiced in Jacksonville. "Because this device secures ladders on vans and trucks, using it will eventually lead to saving lives."

Jordan's device has a base plate or rack that can be mounted to many types of vehicles. It can be placed on the roof of a van or inside the tailgate on either side of the bed of a pickup truck or attached to the side rails of a truck.

Once the device is mounted on a vehicle, the ladder goes on guide pins that are attached to the rack. Clamps are positioned on the four corners of the rack. Shifting a lever at the bottom of the rack causes the clamps to close over the rungs of the ladder and lock it in place.

Jordan has compiled a notebook full of articles and statistics on traffic accidents involving ladders and says these mishaps are avoidable.

"Every human being is valuable, and no one should have to suffer an injury or die in a traffic accident caused by a ladder falling off a vehicle," Jordan said. "My research showed me that the annual costs of ladder-related injuries, including work loss, medical and legal fees, and liability for pain and suffering exceeds $11 billion."

Jordan is no stranger when it comes to the use and securing of ladders on vehicles. He spent 35 years mounting and dismounting ladders from trucks before retiring from the air-conditioning and refrigeration business.

"I spent years crawling up and down tying and untying ladders on my own vehicle, and I was always thinking there had to be a better way of doing this," he said. "Fortunately, I never had a ladder fall off my truck, but I have seen it happen, and I know my device can eliminate this problem."

Jordan has been in contact with a company in Lake City that is interested in manufacturing the locking ladder rack. Officials at Action Welding and Fabrication are looking at developing a prototype that Jordan could use to market the device.

"At this point, we are just speculating as to what we can do with it," said Larry Perry of Action Welding. "There are other ladder retainers on the market, but they are very expensive. What he [Jordan] wants us to do is see if we can manufacture his device at a reasonable cost so small contractors could use it."

"My ladder lock is not only strong, it is easy to use, and I know there is a market for it," he said. "I can even see the use of devices like mine someday being required for vehicles just as the use of seat belts are required today."